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Tailless pets love to swim and are always ready to go for a walk with their owner.
Unusual locals are found in the small villages scattered around the Isle of Man. These are the Manx cats, which at first glance are no different from their other siblings, except that they do not have a tail.
Unusual animals fascinate pet lovers not only on British soil, but all over the world, to the point that even more tailless cats live in North America today than in their historic homeland.
What happened to make them lose their tail has long been a mystery. Genetics help figure it out.
The Manx cat is very similar to the British Shorthair, with the only difference being the tail. The body is compact and solid, with a broad chest and a short back. The legs are short, well developed and the hind legs are slightly longer than the front ones. In breed competitions, the cat may have absolutely no tail, since the “stump” is quite round, but growths of different lengths are also allowed. The manx cat’s coat has two layers: a short, thick undercoat and a slightly longer undercoat on top. All color combinations are possible.
There are several legends about the origin of Manx cats. Some argue that
Noah closed the door
in your coffin too
quick and cut
the cat’s tail
According to other theories, tailless cats swam to the Isle of Man from the sunken galleons of the Spanish Armada in 1588.
Today it has been proven that the peculiarity of the breed is due to a genetic mutation. In 2013, it was discovered that a cat can be born without a tail as a result of any of four types of mutations in a single gene. However, these mutations are unique to Isle of Man cats; other tailless or short-tailed cats owe their appearance to other genes.
One of the study’s authors, Leslie Lions, who works as a geneticist at the University of Missouri at Columbia and specializes in cats, personally went to the Isle of Man to select tailless cats for the study.
The mutation has been found in all of them, which means that all animals of this breed are descended from tailless cats that have lived on this island for hundreds of years. Sarah Goodwins, a resident of the Isle of Man and author of A De-tailed Account of Manx Cats, notes that
the first mention
of cats with tails
the Isle of Man dates from
mid 18th century
Since there was no specific name for this breed until then, Goodwins believes there were hardly enough individuals of this type.
According to Lyons, there are no natural benefits associated with the absence of this part of the body. Since cats use their tails for balance when running and jumping, as well as for communication, it is quite strange that some of them do not have it.
Most likely, the corresponding gene is passed from generation to generation as a result of deliberate selection, when people decide to breed the new breed of cat. The mutant gene is dominant and is therefore easily passed on to future generations. It also has an interesting feature: if a cat inherits it from both parents, not just one, it will most likely die in utero. That is why the gene responsible for the lack of tail in cats is not official.
called by the shady name
“Deadly gene”
“These kittens are not born or do not develop,” says Lyon. “This means that nature is actively fighting this mutation.”
Even when this gene is inherited from only one parent, this is not always good. Tailless cats can have health problems because they have very few vertebrae in the lower or middle back, which can lead to problems urinating and, in some cases, lameness. For this reason, many breeders are reluctant to retain this gene, while others specialize in breeding tailless cats with healthier spines.
Little by little, science has better revealed the problems of selecting genes for breeding certain types of animals. A 2016 study among dogs, for example, found that due to the small number of animals bred by selection to achieve certain external characteristics, such as coat color or head shape, they accumulate harmful genes.
The practice of docking (surgically removing the tails of kittens and puppies in the first days of life to create the appearance that they were born without a tail) is also controversial. Mating for cosmetic purposes is prohibited in the UK, with the exception of service dogs, which are bred for the police and the military.
The bells need
a lot of attention and
permanent vet
control until they turn
a year and a half
Owners should know that high jumps are deadly for tailless cats, as the lack of a natural balancer makes landing fatal.
Tailless cat owners claim that their pets have lost not only their tails but also other typical feline traits in the breeding process. “A cat without a tail is always ready to walk with you,” says Goodwins. “Most of their relatives hate water and these creatures love to swim.”
It is unclear why they behave this way. Goodwins has his own theory. According to her, the appearance of Scandinavian breeds on the Isle of Man, brought there by the Vikings more than a thousand years ago, has affected the genome of tailless cats. Modern Norwegian woodland cats, who, like their safe cousins on the Isle of Man, behave like dogs, are likely descendants of cats that were pets of the Vikings.
However, Goodwins’ hypothesis is not confirmed from a genetic point of view. The genome of tailless cats is similar to the genome of Norwegian forest cats only in that they are both extremely diverse. If a cat is created by crossing many different breeds, its genome will correspond to that of the tailless cat simply because both are very heterogeneous.
There is still a debate about the ethical preservation of the mutant gene, which deprives cats of a tail and brings them a host of lifelong health problems. One thing is clear: tailless cats somehow managed to survive and gain popularity even far from their native shores.
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